Go Kei
'''Go Kei' was a Great General and a member of the Seven Fire Dragons from the state of Wei. He is known as being a strategic general for his use of methodical tactics. He was a vassal of Shin Ryou Kun who was one of the Four Lords of the Warring States and was known as the bastion of knowledge, his military knowledge being the greatest in all of Wei. His son, Go Hou Mei, followed after him as a Great General in Wei. Appearance Go Kei has a warrior's build and large eyes but no eyebrows. His face is painted with a red stripe running down each eye. He ties his braided hair around his neck and also wears a blue cloak above his armor. His hair was black as a child before it turned white due to the trauma of the Zhao ravaging his kingdom in the small state of Jia. He wields a sword with sufficient skill as some of his blows got through Duke Hyou's guard during their duel and he knocked back his guandao at one point in the fight. Personality He is a calm man who plans out his movements before carrying them out, this is shown in how he uses his war chariots to decimate Duke Hyou's charge in order to leave him stranded behind enemy lines. This was a cunning tactic as it used the Qin general's recklessness against him with a pincer formation on both sides of the Qin cavalry. His perception of the battlefield as a board game of logic leads him to mentally maneuver his "pieces" to give him the most suitable tools needed for victory. Despite his calm demeanor, Go Kei is a passionate man and valorous general capable of leading from the vanguard. Calls Duke Hyou a buffoon for his predictable attack and compares him to a rampaging bull. His laughter at the turn of events shocks his troops as he states it is why he can't quit the business of war. His pride in never retreating from Qin was so strong that he killed a soldier who suggested he retreat from his duel. History As a child, his home was destroyed some 30 years ago (275 B.C) by the Zhao forces who killed his parents and conquered his kingdom in the small state of Jia. He is the royal survivor of a fallen kingdom. By changing his name and painting his face, he entered Wei and served under Shinryoukun, a royal member of the state. Prior to the current conflict between Qin and Wei, Go Kei was once the chief retainer of Lord Shinryoukun, one of the "Four Lords of the Warring States". He is also the lord of Shou Castle. At some point, he was appointed as one of the seven Fire Dragons of Wei by King Anri. Despite this, his fellow Fire Dragons began to fight each other with him staying neutral. As a result, three of the six Fire Dragons were killed in conflict whereas the remaining three-faced execution. Through unknown means, Go Kei managed to convince the king to reconsider his decision which resulted in the remaining three Fire Dragons imprisoned underground for fourteen years. Since then, Go Kei was the only remaining Fire Dragon up until his death. Story Keiyou Campaign Arc During the Wei-Qin conflict, he struck into the Eastern region of Qin, attacking Castle Gan. After killing Koku Gou, the lord of the castle, Go Kei's men massacred all its inhabitants then headed back to Wei. Upon his return, he heads to Keiyou and seizes command of its entire army from its lord, Ryuutai. His army advances out of the city with 150,000 men and head for Asui Castle where 3 of Qin's armies (The 1st, 2nd, and 4th army) await orders. The plan was to bring the battle with Great General Duke Hyou to the Dakan Plains where Wei's chariot units are the most effective. The army is initially split into three parts and gain the terrain advantage by placing each of their command posts on a hill which gives Wei higher ground in the Plains. Go Kei arrived with an army of 45,000 men after Kyuu Gen is defeated by the Qin forces. Seeing that Qin had taken Kyuugen's hill, Go Kei deploys the Nine-Fold Spear Wall formation while Duke Hyou charges at his army with 5,000 Qin cavalry. Another Wei general, Haku Ki Sai sends his army down from the hill camp in light of the duke's charge. After Duke Hyou's charge breaks through the first two formations, Go Kei orders Ma Ki and Shu Ki after him. He also quickly sees through and counters the Duke's destructive charge using Wei war chariots to attack the charging cavalry on both sides. Using them to grind down the Duke's troops, the tactic reduces his troops by half and leaves the Qin vulnerable until help arrives in the form of Heki who uses a pincer attack to negate the effectiveness of the chariots. With the two officer hunters slew and Duke Hyou's charge breaks past the Wei final defense line, the two great generals come face to face with each other. Go Kei orders his men back as he proceeds to fight Duke Hyou in a duel with both armies watching. He got overwhelmed by the strength of Duke Hyou and split in half by his glaive. Abilities With the military knowledge that was said to be the best in Wei, Go Kei was an adept general and tactician whom Ou Ki praised as a threat to every neighboring State. As one of the Seven Fire Dragons, he is rumored to have skills on par with the Zhao's Three Great Heavens and Qin's Six Great Generals. He leads from the front often from an elevated platform, commanding decisive army formations. The most notable thing about Go Kei is his high knowledge stat that surpasses many generals or strategists hailed as geniuses. He possesses a meticulous eye for subtle changes and is extremely cautious, yet acts boldly when it's time to take action. Furthermore, he is also a valorous general fully capable of leading from the vanguard. According to one of his commanders, Go Kei knows over a hundred different tactics. The purpose of his tactics is "to surprise the enemy and strike when they least expect it" as seen when he decided to take Gan castle and then launch an offensive out of Keiyou. In order to prevent an attack from Ou Ki that appeared on the hill, he formed part of his army into Spear Wall Formation. In the response to Duke Hyou's charge, he has split his troops to the sides in order to target soldiers behind in pincer attack, instead of taking Duke head-on. This allowed Go Kei to greatly reduce the number of Duke's cavalrymen, however, due to Heki's and Shin's assistance it wasn't enough to completely stop the charge. Duke Hyou also praised the man's resolve and bravery for facing him in a duel although his unwillingness to fall back could also be considered a flaw. His fighting abilities were not enough to defeat Duke in a duel, however, he was still able to leave few wounds on his opponent's body. Duels *vs. Koku Gou: won *vs. Duke Hyou: lost Gallery |t2= Anime |2= }} Lines From Duke Hyou: ''"Your strategic warfare which caused me no end of trouble and that final burst of passionate combat. This was certainly a most impressive blaze, Gokei". Trivia *He is most likely based on a real historical figure Wu Qing Category:Deceased Characters Category:Male Category:Wei Category:Commanders-in-Chief Category:Great Generals Category:Strategical Great Generals Category:Wei Great Generals Category:Seven Fire Dragons Category:Cavalry Category:Sword Users Category:Go Kei Army Category:Strategists